I did it

In Andover out on east Central there's a municipal park that I've taken the girls to a few times (though not as often as I should). Pretty standard stuff as far as city parks go: the two main features being a couple of jungle gyms. One is kind of roped based, with a plastic super-structure (thanks, Star Wars) filled with strategically placed holes and climbing hand-holds. The other is basically fort-themed, with a couple of slides, one straight and one "twisty" that is considerably higher up.

Each time we've gone, there's been a progression on what the girls are capable of doing. The first time, navigating the "swinging bridge" on the fort was the big achievement. It's one of those contraptions that is jointed several times over the length, and slopes down in the middle. The effect is a perpetually changing, uneven surface, and kids have to carefully navigate themselves over the bridge or risk getting stuck. That first time, the girls a couple of times did just that, getting a leg a bit out of place and not really knowing what to do next. But after a few tries and restarts, they were able to get from one end to the other, and this was a proud achievement.

The second (or maybe third) time was the twisty slide. Daddy said no the first couple of times we went, as the top of this slide is about 20 feet in the air, and all kinds of horrible scenes of little girls flying off into a random direction while daddy desperately tries to run and catch them fill your mind. Absurd in retrospect, of course. There's got to be at least a 2 foot groove in the slide at the top; you literally can barely see the top of their head as they begin sliding down. The sides are curved inward as well, almost to the point where it's completely enclosed. I should have of course known that designers and lawyers had long ago performed a strange dance that lead to this incredibly safe piece of playground equipment, but understand, the last time I spent significant time on a playground, the infamous "bump" slide at the Canton Grade School still existed, where the "side" was about an inch high, and the "jungle gym" was just a bunch of pipes welded together in a cube-like pattern.

They handled the "big kid slide" without issue of course, loving every minute of it. Kayla also surprised by easily handling a set of circular climbing stairs that, likewise, takes her up at least 10 feet to the safety of the fort, which she found the best way to head toward the slide again. Again, Daddy was a bit nervous about this, but her footing was sure, and even if Megan was still content to run around the long and safer way to get back into the fort, it was clearly another day of big achievement.

Then this Sunday, we decided to attack the rope gym. This one is definitely made for bigger kids, as to get on it properly requires risking an unsteady "web" of rope suspended semi-horizontally, which itself requires being able to sort of leap out onto it, as there's a good 2 foot gap between where the ropes are anchored to the structure and the web structure begins. They tried this but were not ready for it, as they kept getting high centered on the initial connecting rope, not stable or sure enough to make it out to the web.

However, the back side of the structure also contains a multi-layer climbing activity, which if you make it to the top, puts you a good 10 feet above the ground, sitting on the crest of the up-sloping web. This is also something we've tried before, but have never defeated, getting scared when faced with open air on the third level.

Not this time. Megan was the first to reach the summit, surprisingly. She hoisted her leg up further than I would have though possible, allowing herself to leave the comfort of "ground" and hang momentarily until she could pull her self up through the hole and onto the third landing. Kayla had one false start where she chickened out, but I think couldn't stand the thought of Megan being able to do it and not her, and similarly made it through on the second try. The pride on their faces was so evident; I tried to photograph them both, but the sun was in a bad position to get a clear shot. "I did it" and "I did it too", however, are exact quotes, uttered by both girls at the moment of their triumph.

As I thought about this later when posting the photos from my phone, it occurred to me that "I did it" might be the greatest thing you will ever hear your child say. There's a balance there to figure out. Be there, be helpful, but make sure you're not doing it for them. She has to figure out she can lift that foot off the second landing and hang on with only her hands. You did it, big girls.